By Josh Resnek
This is one of those stories we read which touches us, which actually punches us in our stomachs and which ultimately destroys our check books.
Everett working class families still heating with oil – and there is an abundance of such homeowners and apartment dwellers in this city – are about to experience the worst oil heating season of their lives.
Mario’s Oil, a large retail supplier in Everett, is right now charging approximately $5.00 a gallon for their customers.
In other words, a 200 gallon fill-up for a normal sized heating oil tank would cost today, $1,000.75, according to an official at Mario’s.
At that price, a good many larger home owners still heating with oil their two and three family homes will go through a small fortune in heating oil costs for the coming winter.
And as if that weren’t bad enough, if it is colder winter than usual, Everett property heating with oil are going to be a possible catastrophic situation.
In the Northeast, the conversion to gas has changed the numbers heating with oil drastically.
Greater Boston remains one of the largest oil heating areas remaining in the nation today.
Two hundred gallons of oil in your tank at the height of January when the temperature may not rise much above freezing requires a delivery at least every ten days even if your oil heating system is efficient.
The warmer you want your home, the higher you set your thermostat, the more it costs for oil. The cost of crude oil, from which home heat- ing oil is refined, is subject to many market forces, including: Political factors like embargoes or tariffs.
The international oil marketplace is right now in turmoil because OPEC – the organization of oil producing Arab states, just cut down on oil production, squeezing an already difficult marketplace, in order to keep the prices higher for a barrel of oil.
Barrel oil is in the $88-$92 range at the present time.
Several months back it was well over $100.
The fluctuations reveal the speculation in the marketplace.
In addition, the war in Ukraine has put a strain on oil as well as making weaker the notion that the oil pipeline can be kept flowing to supply everyone with what is needed because of heightened demand with winter coming on.
The coming recession is expected to cause the price for heating oil to drop, as demand will drop for oil as industry cools its heels in a slack business environment.
Oil barrel price could plunge as much as 40%.
But will that happen in time to save many local consumers from this nightmare oil heating season.
Home heating oil costs are $2.00 a gallon higher at this time than they were at this time last year.
Some heating oil companies are charging $6.00 a gallon. Others are charging $5.50. There is no such thing as saving money this year when it comes to heating oil.
Under President Biden, the national government is attempting to morph from using gas and oil to using wind and solar power to save the planet.
As a result, the United States has slipped from the top oil producer in the world to an importer of oil, again.
During President Trump’s time in office, he did not restrict the production of oil and gas.
Restricting the price for oil causes oil to jump in price.
Winter coming causes more demand for oil everywhere in the world where winter is experienced.
With production lower and winter coming and with war in Ukraine and with OPEC cutting back production, there is a perfect storm brewing.
And there is no way out.
…………………………………………
Reporter Joseph Mintz compiled the information revealed in the Eversource letter to the president.